Parenting

Before becoming a parent I had all kinds of ideas on parenting but becoming a parent is the most humbling experience I have ever had. It does not take long before you realise that parenting decisions are pretty much always on a grey scale rather then black and white as non-parents often think.  My friend said it well, becoming a parents is like starting a new job that you really have no experience or qualifications for but you are expected to ace it anyways. After having Sam, hearing non-parents speak about parenting often make me smile because by what they are saying it's so obvious they have NO idea of what it is like. And, it's not their fault, it's natural, they cannot know.
I am a part of a book club (wine/food club, we don't really read the books), when it started some years ago non of us had kids, we used to talk about how we would parent when it was time for us and how we could not believe some parents- our kids will not have tantrums in the store- why bring them in the first place- I'm not going to be one of those grumpy mom's who ignore their kid while shopping or whatever and so on. Now, almost all of us have kids and our conversations sound VERY different.  There's a reason she ignore her kid screaming in the store- it gets you out of there faster- you know what your kid wants and you cannot give it to them until you get back to your car anyways- your kid is a screamer and it does not matter if you pick her up at this point. Whatever the reason- trust me- there is one and it is valid 99% of the time. Plus, she's grumpy because she has not slept for months, so don't mess with her. Here's a picture of my kid screaming his lungs out because he did not want to wear his winter jacket...

Non- parents will discover this themselves if they one day become parents, there's no need for me to point it out to them. I simply smile and say -not everything is black and white or you don't always know the situation etc, but that's as far as I have gone. Now I am saying my 2 cents and I hope that non-parents with ideas on how others parent their children might think twice and realise that one day it may be them at the cafe with a crying kid. Please people- don't give moms evil eyes if their baby cries too loud at a coffee shop because you cannot get your work done as you sit their with your laptop and latte in hand. Trust me, she cannot help it and being at a coffee shop with a friend or even just alone helps that new mom more than you could ever understand so you pack up your laptop and go somewhere else if it bothers you. I guess what I am trying to say in this rant of a post; be more humble towards parents especially if you don't have kids because as so many parents have said before me, you really don't have a clue what you are talking about.  // Nina